Selling a home during the holiday season in Grand Rapids, Michigan is a unique opportunity. On one hand, homes never look or feel more "homey" than they do during this time of the year. Blazing hearths, the smells of holiday baking and traditional Christmas decorations against a backdrop of chilly wintry weather make being inside very appealing. But sometimes, home owners are daunted by the prospect of trying to get through the holidays AND deal with showing their homes.

My recent experience with selling homes during the holidays has been against conventional wisdom. Earlier in my career, I almost moaned when clients would call me in October wanting to list their homes. I had been told repeatedly that homes don't sell during the holidays.

Fortunately, this "wicked spell" was broken by a comment from a Mentor Coach who said, "Lola if you don't have an inventory of homes during the holidays...what are you going to have on the shelf to sell during the spring?" You, see every year, like many agents, I had been playing catch up at spring; building up inventory rather than working through the holidays and being ahead of the game when spring arrived. Thankfully, several years ago, that all changed.

As a result, I've discovered that the holiday season is one of the best times to market a home if the approach is comprehensive. For starters, a lot of the competition simply vanishes during the holidays. Homeowners weary of trying to sell their homes relish the thought of not having to do showings during the holidays and will often pull their homes off the MLS in droves. A smart home owner can use this to their full advantage by going directly against this herd mentality.

In reality, your home will probably never look more gorgeous INSIDE than it does during the holidays. Make the most of this. There are a few important things to keep in mind. First of all, be festive. There are few things more dismal than showing a home which looks like Christmas has passed it by. Even it you'd like to put everything away, resist the temptation to allow your home to look like it's been forgotten. Put out the tree, hang up the stockings and light the fireplace.

Now, the key is to avoid going overboard. Staging a home for the holidays requires the same skill and attentiveness to detail as at other times of the year. The holiday cheer should not create a feeling of clutter. Avoid the little knick knack collections. Instead, enhance the best features of your home with light!  Lighting on the exterior of a home when done correctly, makes a home stand out and feel welcoming.

Don't forget to make sure there is lighting on your Home For Sale Sign too! In addition, change the light bulbs inside your home and in your exterior lighting to avoid the dinginess which is sometimes a part of winter. Use up-lights behind pictures and in strategic corners behind furniture in corners to add a warm glow. And of course light the Christmas Tree!  Using light effectively against the backdrop of the darkness of winter make a home sparkle!

Lastly, engage the senses. This is the time of year when people are in the mood for tradition. Coming into a home that smells like freshly baked apple pie after touring homes on a cold blustery day is apt to make weary buyers stay longer & look more intently. Be sure to have large mats in your foyer if you don't want snow tracked through your home. And don't forget to engage the senses with music too. Buy a Christmas or holiday CD and have this playing when buyers enter your home. These few simple steps are likely to make a tour of you home turn into a Wish List for the Prospective Buyer....All I want for Christmas is my New Home & This One Is IT!

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